Olight SR95 (SST-90) & SR95UT (SBT-90) Review: RUNTIMES, OUTDOOR BEAMSHOTS, VIDEO+

[djans1397]

Welcome Montaman. I'm just east of GNP. Lights like these are great for Big Sky country with wide open spaces with no light polution. Bummer about you UT light. Good luck with replacing it.

Dan

[MontanaMan]

The UT lights both work well, it was the standard SR95 with the Luminous SST-90. However, GoingGear replaced it immediately, and they immediately replaced the EYE-30 that had failed a water submersion test due to a defective, unlubricated gasket. GREAT customer service!

[MontanaMan]

Welcome Montaman. I'm just east of GNP. Lights like these are great for Big Sky country with wide open spaces with no light polution. Bummer about you UT light. Good luck with replacing it.

Dan

Nice to see another Montanan here! You must really have some dark nights up there! We still get some light pollution from Missoula, but it is minimal. And if we want it to be really dark, we just drive a mile or two up the Miller Creek drainage. Much fun! Have a great day!

[Weildableturnip]

An excellent and interesting review, thanks.
I am now waiting for an SR 90 to be delivered, hopefully tomorrow.
I cant wait

[Weildableturnip]

It arrived
Seems smaller than I expected somehow, it arrived fully charged which I was impressed with.
The Olight logo isn't as well defined as I expected, but is still ok and the rest of the build quality seems excellent.
Its incredibly bright, even though it is daylight. I'm looking forward to trying it at night, might get to the Galloway dark sky park over the weekend.
Very impressed

[rjdriver]

I git my 95 UT yesterday, tried it out tonight ...it does have a long throw I think it will make a nice fall hunting light although its a little big.

[ma_sha1]

I have a SR95 UT on the way, it's big for sure & I hate big flashlights.
I am thinking about cutting it down to run 2s2p 4x18650. The battery is currently 2S3P 6x18650 7.2v format.

My goal is to convert the UT into a FM Elephant style...

[ser1a]

thanks for excellent review! I am considering to buy this light. And what about its charger and accu pack? Is it okay and good quality? Are they with protection or unprotected?? I can not find any ifnormation about this in your review

thank you

[selfbuilt]

thanks for excellent review! I am considering to buy this light. And what about its charger and accu pack? Is it okay and good quality? Are they with protection or unprotected?? I can not find any ifnormation about this in your review

That's because I haven't disassembled one to examine it (plus it really isn't my expertise). There have been various discussions (and opinions) of the SR-series battery pack here, but I am not aware of a conclusive study.

Typically, in a sealed pack like this, you would use unprotected cells with regulation/balancing circuitry (i.e., just like a laptop battery pack). Olight has been making these for awhile, so I presume they know what they are doing. But just like any given laptop, it is hard to know what features are in the battery circuitry.

[ser1a]

That's because I haven't disassembled one to examine it (plus it really isn't my expertise). There have been various discussions (and opinions) of the SR-series battery pack here, but I am not aware of a conclusive study.

Typically, in a sealed pack like this, you would use unprotected cells with regulation/balancing circuitry (i.e., just like a laptop battery pack). Olight has been making these for awhile, so I presume they know what they are doing. But just like any given laptop, it is hard to know what features are in the battery circuitry.

thank you selfbuild, and can I replace original accumulator in SR 95 with my own protected 18650 cells? Or there are some different pack of batteries? On SP6 I think there can be changed on my own

[selfbuilt]

thank you selfbuild, and can I replace original accumulator in SR 95 with my own protected 18650 cells? Or there are some different pack of batteries? On SP6 I think there can be changed on my own

The Spark SP6 is a different case where the cells are user-replaceable. Olight uses a sealed unit pack (much like a laptop battery pack).

[ser1a]

The Spark SP6 is a different case where the cells are user-replaceable. Olight uses a sealed unit pack (much like a laptop battery pack).

Ok thank you, I ordered SR95 , hope I will be fully satisfied :-) Will be my most powerful flashlight..

[Landshark99]

Thanks for the great review, ordered a SR95UT, today should be here Thursday

[ma_sha1]

Here it is, my SR95 UT finally arrived


It’s a little smaller than the SR90, but still huge compares some of the “biggest” lights I have. Lux measurement came out an astonishing 211,000 lux@ 1 meter (Measured at 10 meters)


Family photo for a size comparison:
Mag 1D, FM3X UT DIY Elephant, FM3V Real Elephant, SR95 UT

[ma_sha1]

SR95 UT is up for sale at CPFMP:
http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/...TS-VIDEO/page6

Just have to have it. Too big for me, but a killer search & rescue light!

[djans1397]

My VPT is the de-domed version and beats my SR95 UT in terms of throw. There is not a big difference between the two, as they are both great throwers.

Seriously! I was about to pull the trigger on a used SR 95 UT as I am very curious as to see the throw of this beast. However after reading the above I also have a VPT2 dedomed and if it cannot beat this I'm seriously reconsidering my purchase of the Olight. Granted it is regulated and can last one and half hours on a single charge it is still twice the price of my current VPT2. This seriously bums me out Can anyone else confirm this?

[BLUE LED]

Seriously! I was about to pull the trigger on a used SR 95 UT as I am very curious as to see the throw of this beast. However after reading the above I also have a VPT2 dedomed and if it cannot beat this I'm seriously reconsidering my purchase of the Olight. Granted it is regulated and can last one and half hours on a single charge it is still twice the price of my current VPT2. This seriously bums me out Can anyone else confirm this?

There will always be variations between super throwers. Some will over perform and some will under perform. My VPT Dedomed SST-90 has been modified to obtain even more lux and it will only beat my Olight SR95UT using 4x Powerex C cells for a short amount of time, as heat kills the performance. Using lesser NIMH cells will yield significantly lower results. Perhaps this is unique to my unit, but it i highly improbable. If you require ultimate throw, then you will need a SR90 moded with an SBT-90.

[djans1397]

There will always be variations between super throwers. Some will over perform and some will under perform. My VPT Dedomed SST-90 has been modified to obtain even more lux and it will only beat my Olight SR95UT using 4x Powerex C cells for a short amount of time, as heat kills the performance. Using lesser NIMH cells will yield significantly lower results. Perhaps this is unique to my unit, but it i highly improbable. If you require ultimate throw, then you will need a SR90 moded with an SBT-90.

What did u do to modify your VPT2? I run Tenergy LSD C cells. Do the powerex cells give that much real world noticible improved brightness to the beam? I think my SR90 for comparison is an older model. Even that being dedomed can't quite keep up with my VPT2. Looking at selfbilts pics though, it looks like the SR95UT blows the newer SR95 away on throw. U must have one superior Lambda light.

[BLUE LED]

What did u do to modify your VPT2? I run Tenergy LSD C cells. Do the powerex cells give that much real world noticible improved brightness to the beam? I think my SR90 for comparison is an older model. Even that being dedomed can't quite keep up with my VPT2. Looking at selfbilts pics though, it looks like the SR95UT blows the newer SR95 away on throw. U must have one superior Lambda light.

Let me start by saying that Kevin does some fine work with all he’s lights and I for one thank him for doing so. There isn’t a lot you can do to improve throw, but I am a firm believer that every little helps. A small improvement by itself is still just a small improvement. However when you put a few small improvements together, it equals a big smiley face I would agree that after a few modifications, my VPT dedome is my further throwing LED light.

4 x LSD NIMH C cells are not the best for this type of light. Should you wish to use LSD, then the best method for using this type of cell would be to use a longer body to accommodate 4 x LSD NIMH D cells. As this is not an option for many of us. It is better to use PowerEx C cells or Tenergy Premium C cells which will send the light into overdrive.

I am not going to go into detail about the improvements as this we are going off topic. I can confirm that the Olight SR95UT does throw further than the SR90 and SR95 and is my go to light.

[Pedalman]

I just joined the forum and have been reading posts and reviews on here for many days , Your reviews are as good as they get and being impatient I ordered a SR95 today from a retailer in the south of England £289 including next day insured carriage by royal mail.......The same shop has the SR95UT at the same price ! BUT was out of stock.
Ah well Ive taken the plunge and bought a light , I wonder how long it will be until I want another one ??? and another and then just one more .

[Interhead]

Hi. Just orderd my first Olight SR 95. looks extreme. Also I need a good thrower that is a bit smaler so am trying out Conqueror MX-008.

[svgiles]

Remarkable review! Thank you!
Is it bad for the battery to leave it charging all time
I would love to get the SR95 but would like to store it with the charger plugged in so that it will always be ready to use at full power.
Thanks again for your review and any help you can provide!

[selfbuilt]

Is it bad for the battery to leave it charging all time
I would love to get the SR95 but would like to store it with the charger plugged in so that it will always be ready to use at full power.
Thanks again for your review and any help you can provide!

That would be a bad idea, for any rechargeable light.

A "good" charger would terminate completely once fully charged, so there would be no benefit to leaving it plugged in (i.e., it does not start re-charging on its own). A "bad" charger would drop to a low "trickle-charge" - which, depending on its current charge level would slowly (or quickly) cook your batteries. Same goes for chargers and individual batteries - they should always be pulled from the charging unit once charging is terminated.

In any case, there's no need to worry about this with Li-ions - they have remarkably low self-discharge rates, and will remain stable for years/decades.

The one wrinkle in this specific case is the standby current draw of the electronic switch on the SR-series lights. But it is so low (i.e., I measured it around 50uA on my sample) that it would take years/decades to drain the battery pack anyway. If you are worried about it, you could always break this current by storing the light with the head locked out. Given the spring, that would required roughly a full turn of the head away from the handle (basically, just keep turning until the light will no longer activate on a button press). That way your light is fully locked out, and any self-discharge would be so minimal as to be completely negligible.

Oh, and

[svgiles]

That would be a bad idea, for any rechargeable light.

A "good" charger would terminate completely once fully charged, so there would be no benefit to leaving it plugged in (i.e., it does not start re-charging on its own). A "bad" charger would drop to a low "trickle-charge" - which, depending on its current charge level would slowly (or quickly) cook your batteries. Same goes for chargers and individual batteries - they should always be pulled from the charging unit once charging is terminated.

In any case, there's no need to worry about this with Li-ions - they have remarkably low self-discharge rates, and will remain stable for years/decades.

The one wrinkle in this specific case is the standby current draw of the electronic switch on the SR-series lights. But it is so low (i.e., I measured it around 50uA on my sample) that it would take years/decades to drain the battery pack anyway. If you are worried about it, you could always break this current by storing the light with the head locked out. Given the spring, that would required roughly a full turn of the head away from the handle (basically, just keep turning until the light will no longer activate on a button press). That way your light is fully locked out, and any self-discharge would be so minimal as to be completely negligible.

Oh, and

Thank you for this helpful response! Your reviews are very addictive. I can't stop reading them!!
I do have one more question. I saw someone selling an SR95 with a spare battery pack. Would an extra battery pack have a long shelf life if it was not used or charged for a very long period of time? I am wondering if it is worth it to get an extra battery pack just to have around for emergencies even though it most likely rarely be used.
Thanks again! You are amazing!

[selfbuilt]

I saw someone selling an SR95 with a spare battery pack. Would an extra battery pack have a long shelf life if it was not used or charged for a very long period of time? I am wondering if it is worth it to get an extra battery pack just to have around for emergencies even though it most likely rarely be used.

Yes, a spare battery pack would have a very long shelf-life. If you browse around the batteries subforum here, you will find lots of helpful tips for Li-ions. It's typically recommended you store any Li-ion at something lower than its max charge state - apparently, this is better for the long-term health of the cell(s). Once fully charged, I typically run my cells in a light on max for a few mins, to drain off some charge, before long-term storage (although the experts prefer an even lower level).

[BVH]

3.84 to 3.85 Volts per cell is what all the experts over on RC Groups Forum use. Many of the die-hards will do this just for the 5 days between weekend uses.